Multi-Use Punch

ABSTRACT

A multi-use punch has a core, a handle, a chuck and at least one tool head. The core is metal and has a chuck end. The handle is mounted around the core and has a butt end having at least one chamber and a cap. The cap is detachably mounted on the butt end of the handle. The chuck is mounted on the chuck end of the core and has a detent. The tool head is alternately mounted in the chuck end of the core and the chamber of the handle and has a detent corresponding to and being selectively held securely by the detent of the chuck. Each tool head can be easily changed so the punch can be easily and conveniently used for multiple tasks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a punch, and more particularly to amulti-use punch with changeable tool heads for improved convenience andversatility.

2. Description of Related Art

With reference to FIG. 7, a conventional punch (60) comprises a core(61) and a grip (62).

The core (61) is metal and has a central segment, a head (611) and abutt (612).

The head (611) is metal and is formed on and protrudes from the core(61) and tapers to a point.

The butt (612) is formed on the proximal end of the core (61). The grip(62) is rubber and is mounted around the core (61) and has a hand grip(621) and a tool grip (622). The hand grip (621) comprises multiplenon-slip ribs. The tool grip (622) is polygonal and can be heldconveniently by a tool such as pliers, a wrench or the like.

In use, the head (611) is placed on a target, the butt (612) is struckby a tool, such as a hammer, to drive the point of the head (65) towardthe target and form a hole or drive the target into a work surface.

However, the conventional punch (60) must be changed for different jobs,therefore, multiple punches (60) must be carried, which is inconvenient.

Furthermore, the conventional punch (60) cannot be used as a differenttool, so is carried exclusively for punching holes and pins or nails.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide amulti-use punch to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the invention is to provide a multi-use punch withchangeable tool heads for improved convenience and versatility.

The multi-use punch in accordance with the present invention has a core,a handle, a chuck and at least one tool head. The core is metal and hasa chuck end. The handle is mounted around the core and has a butt end.The butt end of the handle has at least one chamber and a cap. The capis detachably mounted on the butt end of the handle. The chuck ismounted on the chuck end of the core and has a detent. The tool head isalternately mounted in the chuck end of the core and the chamber of thehandle and has a detent corresponding to and being selectively heldsecurely by the detent of the chuck. Each tool head can be easilychanged so the punch can be easily and conveniently used for multipletasks.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a punch in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the punch in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view in partial section showing the punch in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the punch in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the punch in FIG. 1 fitted with ascrewdriver head; and

FIG. 6 is an operational perspective view of the punch is FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional punch in accordance with theprior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, a multi-use punch in accordance withthe present invention comprises a core (20), a handle (10), a chuck(30), and at least one tool head (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D).

With reference to FIG. 4, the core (20) is metal and has a chuck end(21) and a butt end (22).

The chuck end (21) of the core (20) has a head hole (210), a wall (211),a chuck hole (213), an optional shoulder (212) and an optional springmount (214). The head hole (210) is non-circular and may be hexagonal.The chuck hole (213) is formed through the wall (211) and communicateswith the head hole (210). The shoulder (212) is formed on the wall (211)and protrudes into the head hole (210).

The butt end (22) of the core (20) may be hexagonal in cross section.With further reference to FIG. 2, the handle (10) is mounted around thecore (20) and has a butt end (12) and an optional grip, and may beplastic or rubber.

The butt end (12) of the handle (10) has at least one chamber (120A,120B), a connecting sleeve (121) and a cap (123). The at least onechamber (120A, 120B) is formed in the butt end (12) of the handle (10)around the core (20) and multiple chambers (120A, 120B) may beimplemented and may have different lengths. The connecting sleeve (121)is formed on and protrudes from the butt end (12) of the handle (10) andhas an outer surface and an annular ridge (122). The annular ridge (122)is formed on the outer surface of the connecting sleeve (121).

The cap (123) is detachably mounted on the connecting sleeve (122)around the butt end (22) of the core (20), selectively covers the atleast one chamber (120A, 120B) and may be formed from a guard cap (124)and a cover cap (125) and comprises an inner surface, an outer surface,a through hole, a mounting recess (1241) and an optional guard (1240,1250).

The guard cap (124) has an inner surface as the inner surface of the cap(123), an outer surface and a hole (123A) as a top segment of thethrough hole of the cap (123).

The cover cap (125) is mounted on the outer surface of the guard cap(124) and has an inner surface, a connecting protrusion (1252), a hole(123B) being formed through the connecting protrusion (1252) as a bottomsegment of the through hole of the cap (123) and an outer surface as theouter surface of the cap (123). The connecting protrusion (1252)corresponds to and is detachably mounted in the hole (123A) of the guardcap (124), is formed on and protrudes from the inner surface of thecover cap (125).

The inner surface of the cap (123) abuts the butt end (12) of the handle(10).

The outer surface of the cap (123) is defined at a side of the cap (123)opposite to the handle (10), and the butt end (22) of the core (20)protrudes out from the outer surface of the cap (123).

The through hole is formed through the cap (123), mounted around thebutt end (22) of the core (20), may be hexagonal in cross section andmay be formed through the guard cap (124) and the cover cap (125).

The mounting recess (1241) is formed in the inner surface of the cap(123), may be formed in the inner surface of the guard cap (124),corresponds to and is mounted on the connecting sleeve (121) and has aninner surface and an annular groove (1242). The annular groove (1242) isformed in the inner surface of the mounting recess (1241) and detachablyengages the annular ridge (122) of the outer surface of the connectingsleeve (121).

The guard (1240, 1250) is formed on and protrudes from the cap (123),may be formed on and protrude from the guard cap (124) and the cover cap(125) to prevent a striking tool hitting a hand holding the handle (10)and may be polygonal.

The chuck (30) is mounted around the wall (211) of the chuck end (21) ofthe core (20) and comprises a detent. The detent may be mounted throughthe chuck hole (213) of the of the core (20) and may comprise a holdingball (31), a holding sleeve (32) and a spring (33). The holding ball(31) is moveably mounted in the chuck hole (213) of the core (20) andselectively protrudes into the head hole (210) of the core (20). Theholding sleeve (32) corresponds to and is slidably mounted around thewall (211) and has an inner surface, a ball recess (35) and a springrecess. The ball recess (35) is formed in the inner surface of theholding sleeve (30) and selectively communicates with the chuck hole(213) of the core (20). The spring recess is formed in the inner surfaceof the holding sleeve (32) and is disposed adjacent to the spring mount(214) of the core (20). The spring (33) is mounted around the wall (211)of the core (20), in the spring recess of the holding sleeve (32) andabuts the spring mount (214) of the core (20) and the holding sleeve(32) to provide a returning force.

In a locked position, the spring (33) ensures the holding sleeve (30)prevents the holding ball (31) from sliding. To unlock the chuck (30),the holding sleeve (30) is slid along the core (20) so the ball recess(35) aligns with the chuck hole (213) of the core (20) so allowing theholding ball (31) to slide out of the head hole (210) of the core (20).When released, the holding sleeve (32) returns to the locked position bythe returning force.

The at least one tool head (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) is alternately anddetachably mounted in a corresponding chamber (120A, 120B) of the handleand the head hole (210) of the core (20), is held by the detent of thechuck (30) and has a tip (41), a shaft (42) and a proximal end (43). Thetip (41) of the at least one tool head (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) may be apunch tip, drill tip, screwdriver head tip or the like. The shaft (42)of the at least one tool head (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) corresponds to thehead hole (210) of the chuck end (21) of the core (20), may be hexagonalin cross section and has a detent (420) detachably engaging the detentof the chuck (30). The proximal end (43) of the at least one tool head(40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) corresponds to and securely abuts the shoulder(212) of the chuck end (21) of the core (20). Multiple tool heads (40A,40B, 40C, 40D) may be implemented and may have different lengths.

With further reference to FIG. 6, when the chuck (30) is in a lockedposition, the shaft (42) of the tool head (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) is heldsecurely by engagement of the detents (420) of the shaft (42) and chuck(30).

The punch may be struck by a striking tool such as a hammer beforedrilling a hole or fastening a screw. The handle (10) is held in onehand and the other hand holds the striking tool to hit the butt end (22)of the core (20) and force the tip (41) of the tool head (40A) forwardto punch holes or nails. Therefore, the multi-use punch can be used as ahole punch, nail punch, screwdriver or the like safely and containsalternate tool heads (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) that are easily interchangedso is convenient to use and carry.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the presentinvention have been set forth in the foregoing description, togetherwith details of the structure and function of the invention, thedisclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail,especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within theprinciples of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broadgeneral meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

1. A multi-use punch comprising: a core being metal and having a chuckend having a head hole being non-circular and a wall; and a butt end; ahandle being mounted around the core and having a butt end having atleast one chamber being formed in the butt end of the handle around thecore; a connecting sleeve being formed on and protruding from the buttend of the handle and having an outer surface and an annular ridgeformed on the outer surface of the connecting sleeve; and a cap beingdetachably mounted on the connecting sleeve around the butt end of thecore, selectively covering the at least one chamber and comprising aninner surface abutting the butt end of the handle; an outer surface,wherein the butt end of the core protrudes out from the outer surface; athrough hole being formed through the cap and being mounted around thebutt end of the core; and a mounting recess being formed in the innersurface of the cap, corresponding to and being mounted on the connectingsleeve and having an inner surface and an annular groove formed on theinner surface of the mounting recess and detachably engaging the annularridge of the connecting sleeve; a chuck being mounted around the wall onthe chuck end of the core and comprising a detent; and at least one toolhead being detachably mounted in the head hole of the chuck end of thecore and having a tip; and a shaft corresponding to the head hole of thechuck end of the core and having a detent detachably engaging the detentof the chuck.
 2. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 1, wherein onechamber is implemented; and multiple tool heads having different lengthsare implemented and are alternately mounted in the chamber in the buttend of the handle and the head hole of the core.
 3. The multi-use punchas claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple chambers having differentlengths are implemented; and multiple tool heads having differentlengths are implemented and alternately mounted in the chambers in thebutt end of the handle and head hole of the core.
 4. The multi-use punchas claimed in claim 1, wherein the chuck end of the core further has achuck hole being formed through the wall and communicating with the headhole of the core; and the detent of the chuck is mounted through chuckhole of the core.
 5. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe chuck end of the core further has a chuck hole being formed throughthe wall and communicating with the head hole of the core; and thedetent of the chuck is mounted through chuck hole of the core.
 6. Themulti-use punch as claimed in claim 3, wherein the chuck end of the corefurther has a chuck hole being formed through the wall and communicatingwith the head hole of the core; and the detent of the chuck is mountedthrough chuck hole of the core.
 7. The multi-use punch as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the chuck is slidably mounted around the chuck end ofthe core and comprises a holding ball being movably mounted in the chuckhole of the core and selectively protruding into the head hole of thecore; a holding sleeve corresponding to and being slidably mountedaround the wall on the chuck end of the core and having an innersurface; a ball recess being formed in the inner surface of the holdingsleeve and selectively communicating with the chuck hole of the core;and a spring recess being formed in the inner surface of the holdingsleeve; and a spring being mounted around the wall of the core in thespring recess of the holding sleeve to provide a returning force.
 8. Themulti-use punch as claimed in claim 5, wherein the chuck is slidablymounted around the chuck end of the core and comprises a holding ballbeing movably mounted in the chuck hole of the core and selectivelyprotruding into the head hole of the core; a holding sleevecorresponding to and being slidably mounted around the wall on the chuckend of the core and having an inner surface; a ball recess being formedin the inner surface of the holding sleeve and selectively communicatingwith the chuck hole of the core; and a spring recess being formed in theinner surface of the holding sleeve; and a spring being mounted aroundthe wall of the core in the spring recess of the holding sleeve toprovide a returning force.
 9. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 6,wherein the chuck is slidably mounted around the chuck end of the coreand comprises a holding ball being movably mounted in the chuck hole ofthe core and selectively protruding into the head hole of the core; aholding sleeve corresponding to and being slidably mounted around thewall on the chuck end of the core and having an inner surface; a ballrecess being formed in the inner surface of the holding sleeve andselectively communicating with the chuck hole of the core; and a springrecess being formed in the inner surface of the holding sleeve; and aspring being mounted around the wall of the core in the spring recess ofthe holding sleeve to provide a returning force.
 10. The multi-use punchas claimed in claim 1, wherein the cap further comprises a guard caphaving an inner surface abutting the butt end of the handle; an outersurface; a mounting recess being formed in the inner surface of theguard cap, corresponding to and being mounted on the connecting sleeveand having an inner surface and an annular groove formed on the innersurface of the mounting recess and detachably engaging the annular ridgeof the connecting sleeve; and a hole being formed through the guard cap;a cover cap being mounted on the outer surface of the guard cap andhaving an inner surface; an outer surface, wherein the butt end of thecore protrudes out from the outer surface; a connecting protrusion beingformed on and protruding from the inner surface of the cover cap,corresponding to and being detachably mounted in the through hole of theguard cap; and a hole being formed through the connecting protrusion ofthe cover cap and being mounted around the butt end of the core.
 11. Themulti-use punch as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cap further comprisesa guard cap having an inner surface abutting the butt end of the handle;an outer surface; a mounting recess being formed in the inner surface ofthe guard cap, corresponding to and being mounted on the connectingsleeve and having an inner surface and an annular groove formed on theinner surface of the mounting recess and detachably engaging the annularridge of the connecting sleeve; and a hole being formed through theguard cap; a cover cap being mounted on the outer surface of the guardcap and having an inner surface; an outer surface, wherein the butt endof the core protrudes out from the outer surface; a connectingprotrusion being formed on and protruding from the inner surface of thecover cap, corresponding to and being detachably mounted in the throughhole of the guard cap; and a hole being formed through the connectingprotrusion of the cover cap and being mounted around the butt end of thecore.
 12. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 9, wherein the capfurther comprises a guard cap having an inner surface abutting the buttend of the handle; an outer surface; a mounting recess being formed inthe inner surface of the guard cap, corresponding to and being mountedon the connecting sleeve and having an inner surface and an annulargroove formed on the inner surface of the mounting recess and detachablyengaging the annular ridge of the connecting sleeve; and a hole beingformed through the guard cap; a cover cap being mounted on the outersurface of the guard cap and having an inner surface; an outer surface,wherein the butt end of the core protrudes out from the outer surface; aconnecting protrusion being formed on and protruding from the innersurface of the cover cap, corresponding to and being detachably mountedin the through hole of the guard cap; and a hole being formed throughthe connecting protrusion of the cover cap and being mounted around thebutt end of the core.
 13. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 7,wherein the head hole in the chuck end of the core is hexagonal; and theshaft each one of the at least one tool head is hexagonal in crosssection.
 14. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 11, wherein thehead hole in the chuck end of the core is hexagonal; and the shaft eachone of the at least one tool head is hexagonal in cross section.
 15. Themulti-use punch as claimed in claim 12, wherein the head hole in thechuck end of the core is hexagonal; and the shaft each one of the atleast one tool head is hexagonal in cross section.
 16. The multi-usepunch as claimed in claim 10, wherein the butt end of the core ishexagonal in cross section; and the through hole of the cap ishexagonal.
 17. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 13, wherein thebutt end of the core is hexagonal in cross section; and the through holeof the cap is hexagonal.
 18. The multi-use punch as claimed in claim 14,wherein the butt end of the core is hexagonal in cross section; and thethrough hole of the cap is hexagonal.